I just got the following from my review of The Rage:
Hokay. Usually don’t comment to blogs, Realize you’re younger than I am
but you’ve still had to have been a Joe Bob Brigg’s fan. so how do you
appreciate Bflick silliness like Rage, yet take offense and snipe at
28 Weeks Later?! Don’t get it. Hell, I’m still a Soldier/Sniper(will be
46 when we get back from next deployment) and I didn’t take offense at
the portrayal of the joe’s in the flick, not after how the Brit
squaddies in the first one were portrayed. What torqued me was that our young
hero dumped his M14 for a measly M4! It’s a zombie flick for
chrissakes.
Bet you’re a “hell comes to frog town” and “Near Dark” fan.
Anyway, cool blog, and MHI was awesome, have given away a few copies
now. Didn’t score any with patches though. Keep up the good work.
AOS
That’s an excellent question. How can I give a positive review to total cheese like The Rage, yet bag on 28 Weeks Later. By all standards of filmmaking, 28 Weeks Later was better. It had better acting, better production values, better effects, etc. But it drove me nuts.
What it comes down to for me personally is that I’m a lot more forgiving of cheap movies, than I am of real budget movies. If a movie has a budget, I hold it to a higher standard, and expect more out of it. The cheaper the movie, the more I let slide.
For example, I haven’t ever posted my list of favorite vampire movies yet. But the Bleeding has to make the list. This thing was obviously made with a budget of less than the doughnut budget for 28 Weeks Later, but it was awesome. The actors were obviously friends of the director. The sets, if you could call them that, were one of the actor’s apartments. But by golly, they put some effort into it!
When a movie is big enough to go to the theaters, then I expect quality. If I’m a judge at the Olympics, then I’m going to have high standards and expect performance. If I’m a judge at the Special Olympics, then I’m giving bonus points for effort, and not worried quite as much about performance. (and that’s not bagging on the Special Olympics at all, because I’ve gone to them, and will admit that most of their track stars would kick my fat ass).
And yes, to answer the above Hell Comes to Frogtown is high quality cinema. And Near Dark has BILL PAXTON! B-Movie superhero, nearly as great as Ron Perlman, Lance Henrikson, and the Man, Jeffrey Combs.
I’d have to agree. Except for, um, some extracurricular activities that may not have happened in the theater, it would have been a total waste. Jordy hated it, too.
B-movies are kind of like commie milsurp guns: Things that would be most unforgiveable on somthing with a larger budget ( stiff actions and trigger pulls, horrible ergonomics, shoddy finish work, ect) are seen as almost endearing on an old Mosin or SKS.
Because it’s so cheap- and fun.
And with B-movies, the goofs, large ham type overacting, obvious cheapness and the like is a win-win situation. Sometimes the movie is an unintended comedy (see Plan 9 From Outer Space for a great example).
And sometimes they do work in spite of the limitations.
You make a list of B Movie actors and DON’T mention Bruce Campbell? WTH? But otherwise I think you pegged it. Bill Paxton is probably one of the best B Movie actors ever. If only he’d realize that!
Hell Comes To Frogtown has to be one of the cheesiest movies ever… definitely a Golden Turkey Award candidate!
I’m still trying to find a copy of the sequel so I can see it.
I assumed that’s where you were coming from, and actually, I didn’t realize the 28 movies are considered mainstream. No network TV here at the Wondering Y don’t you know. If it ain’t Netflix, we don’t know about it, and with a little’un I have to sneak in what I can that’s not Disney.
“Near Dark” is one of the great unsung classics, and yup, Bill Paxton rocks.
Met Peter Weller and a bunch of the cast of “Vampires” when working on something in Cerrillos, NM. Saw their kit and thought it would be a rival, but…not so much.
While on the subject of Bs, I’m still on the lookout for the Mad Max knockoff, Italian I believe, called Stryker. Leather and M1s, all shot in a rock pit. Yeah, someday it’ll rise to the surface. Keep up the good work,
AOS
Ooops. James Woods, not Peter Weller, little gaunt guys all look alike. NO, I don’t get Salvador mixed up with Buckaroo Banzai.